I thought this would be my last chapter, but after writing the ending three different ways, I still didn't like it. I finally decided to change the endingin a way that required at least one more chapter. So here is chapter 5, I should have chpater 6 posted over the next few days. Thanks for staying with me, I hope I'm not dragging this outunnecessarilyand thanks again for all of the reviews.
Chapter 5
7:22am
Tony and Michelle awoke the next morning to a ringing phone. Michelle reached sleepily to the nightstand and, with eyes still closed, groped for the phone. She finally found it.
"Dessler," she said her voice rough with sleep.
"Michelle," said the voice on the other end. "Are you still sleeping?"
"Yeah Mom, I don't have to go to work today. I worked all night at CTU yesterday, remember?
"You need to wake up. Have you heard the news?"
By now Tony was awake and she positioned the phone between them so they could both hear.
"What news, Mom?" Michelle asked coyly as she winked at Tony.
"It's all over the news, Tony got a presidential pardon!"
"Really?" Michelle said acting surprised. Tony grinned at her. "So that's why I woke up in bed with him," she said playfully.
"Hi Helen," Tony said. "How are you?"
"Oh, Tony!" Helen Dessler cried. She covered the phone lightly with her hand. "Ed," she said to her husband. "Tony's there with Michelle." Then into the phone she said, "It's so good to hear your voice. We're so happy for you."
"Thanks Helen. It's good to hear your voice, too."
"Why didn't you two call us and let us know. We were shocked when we got up and heard the news."
"I guess we should have called, Mom," Michelle said, "I think we got a little carried away."
"Oh, no!" Helen laughed. "Am I interrupting something?"
"Only our sleep, Helen," Tony laughed in return. "How about if we stop over later today and see you two?"
"Come for dinner, we're dying to spend some time with you. I'll make that pork roast that you love, Tony."
"That'd be great, Helen. I can taste it already. And that'll give me a chance to ask you and Ed for your daughter's hand in marriage again."
"You already asked us once, Tony. We said 'yes' the first time; we're certainly not going to change our minds now. You saved her life, Tony. Don't think we've forgotten."
After talking to Michelle's parents, Tony and Michelle snuggled close.
"I hate the thought of getting out of bed," Tony said. "It feels so good just to lay here with you. I still can't believe this is happening."
"Well believe it. You're here and I'm beside you and nothing is going to change that." Michelle kissed him to emphasize her point. The kiss deepened and Michelle climbed on top of him. Tony groaned as he stroked her body and Michelle could feel him becoming aroused. They were in the middle of an intense kiss when the phone rang again. They both smiled and Michelle rested her forehead against Tony's. She rolled off of him and reached for the phone.
"Hello."
"Michelle," said Mrs. Wheatley her voice tremulous and frightened. "I hope I didn't wake you, Dear."
"No, Mrs. Wheatley. What's wrong?" Michelle covered the receiver and mouthed "my neighbor" to Tony.
"Have you looked outside, Michelle?"
"No, what's happening outside?"
"I don't know. There are news trucks and reporters all over the parking lot and the front steps."
Michelle got up and looked out of the window. Sure enough the parking lot was littered with reporters and camera crews and satellite trucks.
"I don't think you have to worry about it, Mrs. Wheatley." She knew Mrs. Wheatley never watched the news so she would have no idea that the reporters were there to talk to Tony.
"What could they want? What if they come to my door?" She said nervously. "I don't know what I'll do if they knock on my door."
"I really don't think they'll bother you, but if they do knock on your door, just ignore them."
Michelle finished reassuring Mrs. Wheatley and hung up the phone. By now Tony was standing next to her looking out at the throng of reporters.
"I guess we better get dressed and go downstairs." Michelle said.
Tony nodded. "They aren't going to leave us alone. The sooner we talk to them the sooner they stop bugging us."
The two got showered and dressed and had some breakfast and steeled themselves to face the crowd of reporters. Michelle grabbed her purse and keys and started out the door with Tony a few steps behind her. As Michelle stepped into the hallway, Mrs. Wheatley opened her door.
"Oh, Michelle," said Mrs. Wheatley. She looked up just as Tony walked out of the door. "Oh dear! I didn't realize that you had company or I wouldn't have bothered you this morning." Mrs. Wheatley took a step towards her door. As always, she was nervous around strangers but immediately noticed that the man with Michelle was the handsome man from the pictures.
"That's okay, Mrs. Wheatley. I want you to meet my husband, Tony Almeida."
"Your husband! Michelle, I didn't know you were getting married. When did this happen?"
"We've been married almost four years. It's just that circumstances kept us apart for the last year and a half." Michelle smiled up at Tony. There was no point in explaining to Mrs. Wheatley that they were actually divorced. Neither of them considered themselves divorced so why bother explaining.
Mrs. Wheatley looked at them with a confused look on her face.
"I'll tell you what," Michelle started. "We have a number of errands to run today, but as soon as we get home, I'll sit down and explain it all to you."
"Whenever you have a chance, Dear. How do you plan to get past all those reporters?"
"We don't. It's Tony that they want to talk to, so we're going to go downstairs and talk to them. I think they'll leave after that so you won't have to worry about them any more."
"Oh, that would be wonderful. They're making me so nervous. You're so brave to go and talk to them. If I had to talk to them I'd faint dead away!"
"You just go inside and relax and everything will be fine. Make yourself a cup of tea." Michelle instructed her.
Mrs. Wheatley nodded and started toward her door. "It was nice meeting you, Mrs. Wheatley," Tony said to her.
"Likewise, Tony," she responded. She stopped and looked at them for a moment and smiled. "It's good to see you smile, Michelle."
Michelle looked back at her, puzzled at what the elderly woman had just said. "I always smile when I see you."
"But not like you are right now. You're almost glowing. I've never seen you this happy. Even when you smiled I knew there was some sadness buried deep in your heart. All of that sadness is gone today. All that's left is a joy that someone who has never been in love can't even understand. I used to look that way when I was with my Harold," Mrs. Wheatley said wistfully. "It's okay for an old lady like me to have a sad heart, but it always hurt me to see someone so young and beautiful have that kind of sadness." Mrs. Wheatley surprised Michelle by hugging her. Mrs. Wheatley had always shunned any kind of physical contact. She even tensed up when Michelle tried to help her into the car. "I'm so happy for you, Dear."
Tony and Michelle headed downstairs and were mobbed by the reporters as they left the building. They stood on the front steps for almost a half hour and answered questions before they told the reporters that they had to go and they refused to answer any more questions. From there they went to Todd Maver's office and picked him up for the drive to the prison.
Once at the prison, Todd reviewed all of the paperwork with Warden Holmes. They agreed that it was all in order and handed it off to Tony to sign in several places. Each signature that he placed on the paper brought him one step closer to being completely free with no strings attached. He felt as though the burden of incarceration lifted just a little with each pen stroke until it was finally gone.
"That's it," Todd told him. "You can pick up your personal effects and you can walk out of here forever."
Tony stood and hugged Michelle. "She's the only 'person effect' I care about." They both beamed as Todd and the warden looked on.
"If it's okay, I would like to go and say goodbye to a couple of the guys here and some of the corrections officers. You can't live in a place for 18 months and not become friends with some of the other guys. I guess they've heard the news, but I'd like the chance to say goodbye."
"We made an announcement at breakfast this morning. It was about to hit the news and it was easier to tell everyone at once than to have rumors floating around. Some of the men were starting to wonder what happened to you. Having you go and say goodbye to people is a little unusual. I don't usually have civilians walking around the place, but give me a couple of minutes and we'll arrange something."
Tony agreed and spent the next hour saying his goodbyes. While he was doing that, Michelle called her boss and arranged to get time off of work so the two could travel to Chicago together.
When Tony was finished the warden himself brought out of box of personal items that the prison staff had removed from Tony's cell.
"I'm going to miss having you here to work on our computer system, Tony." Holmes said.
"If you could turn that into a real job, I'd be interested in it," Tony told him.
"I wish I could hire you, Tony. I don't have room in my budget for a systems administrator, let alone one of your caliber," he paused. "I don't know if you're interested, but the federal prison system is looking for a systems administrator for the entire system. The position has been open for a while but they haven't been able to come up with anyone who understood the intricacies of the system. The applicant needs to understand both the computer security end and the physical security of a prison. Your previous counter terrorist training, in addition to the time you spent as an inmate makes you uniquely qualified for the position. I'd be happy to put in a good word for you if you're interested. It would require a move to Virginia; I don't know how you feel about that."
Tony and Michelle smiled at each other. They were planning on a move to Virginia before Tony was arrested, so the idea wasn't new to either of them.
"I could be very interested," Tony said. "Who do I get in touch with for more information?"
"If you leave your contact information with me, I'll pass it on to the appropriate people. They'll get in touch with you."
Tony thanked Warden Holmes and provided him with Michelle's cell phone number and email address as a means of contact. He suddenly felt like he really didn't exist; he didn't have any identity of his own. He was grateful that he had Michelle, though. He knew that he could put his life back together with her support. They walked out of the prison holding hands; ready to restart their lives that had been essentially on hold for the last 18 months.
They drove back to LA with Todd who offered to take them out to lunch. They thanked him but declined and suggested maybe they get together over the next couple of weeks. They had other things they needed to do and, although neither wanted to admit it, they both just wanted time together that they didn't have to share with anyone else.
They arrived home a little after 1:30. Tony scrounged through the kitchen looking for something to make for lunch. Wrigley rubbed back and forth against his legs. She remembered how Tony always used to throw her scraps when he cooked.
"How do you live like this?" He asked laughing as he opened one cupboard door after another and then turned to the refrigerator. You don't ever have to worry about having mice in your house; there isn't enough food for them to eat! You have more food for Wrigley than you do for yourself."
"You know I hate to cook," Michelle said.
"You must hate to eat, too, because there isn't anything here to eat. I'm not even talking about cooking. No wonder you're on a first name basis with all of the local carry out places," he teased her.
Tony expected a witty comeback from Michelle but she said nothing. As he looked over at her, he noticed that her eyes were filled with tears.
"Hey," Tony whispered as he reached for her hand and pulled her toward him. "I'm kidding, Honey. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."
"It's not that," she said her face pressed against his neck. "I almost never ate at home while you were gone. It was so sad and lonely to sit and eat at the same table where we used to sit and talk and eat all of the wonderful meals you cooked. That's why there's nothing in the cupboards. If I had to eat here, I sat in front of the TV or I stood at the counter in the kitchen. I almost never sat at the table," she sobbed.
"Baby, I'm here now. Those days are over," he assured her. He kissed her forehead gently as tears cascaded down her face. "I'm going to cook for you and we're going to eat together again."
"Tony, I was so scared," she said through deep sobs. "I was so afraid that I'd never see you again, that you'd never hold me or kiss me again. It was because of me that you were charged with treason. I couldn't stand the idea that you were in person because of me," she cried uncontrollably.
Tony helped her to the sofa and sat her down. He sat next to her and took her face in his hands. As he did so, he gently wiped away tears with his thumbs.
"Sweetheart, I have never, not for one minute, blamed my ending up in prison on you. I freely chose to do what I did. I knew what I was doing and I did it anyway. Michelle, if it hadn't been for my position at CTU, you never would have been kidnapped. Do you know how guilty I've felt about that? If anything bad would have happened to you, I could never have forgiven myself."
Michelle continued as if she hadn't heard him. "Tony, I hated you for making me sign divorce papers. And I hated you for refusing to see me. Then I hated myself for feeling that way about you. Didn't you understand how much I loved you and how much I needed to see you? How could you do that to me? I know you think you were doing what was best for me, but you should have let me decide what was best for me." She was crying so hard she had to stop. The pain and the frustration of the last 18 months were released like a flood.
Michelle tried to get up from the sofa, but Tony held her tighter. "I'm so sorry, Baby. I'm so sorry. You're right; I should have let you make the decision. I'm sorry, Michelle."
Tony whispered his apologies over and over as he held her. He gently pulled her body down on top of his as he lay back on the sofa. Michelle's thin shoulders shook violently. He stoked her hair and back and kissed the top of her head. They lay together for a long time until Michelle stopped crying and finally lay still in his arms.
"I was wrong, Baby. I shouldn't have forced you to sign the divorce papers and I should have let you make the decision or at least I should have talked to you about it. I never meant to hurt you. I hope you know that and that you can forgive me," he whispered.
Without a word, Michelle raised her face to his and kissed him. Her lips were slightly parted and salty with her tears. He returned the kiss and gently pushed his tongue between her lips. Her mouth opened easily and the kiss intensified. Before they even realized what they were doing, they were fumbling with buttons and pulling each others clothes off. They slid from the sofa to the floor and made love frantically.
When they finished, Tony pulled a blanket from the sofa to cover them. They snuggled beneath it both waiting for their heart beats to return to normal.
"I'm sorry," Michelle whispered as she gave Tony a small smile.
"You're sorry? For what? That was beautiful, Michelle."
"Not for that! I'm sorry I went crazy on you when you were trying to make lunch. I didn't mean it, Tony. I never hated you. I wouldn't know how to hate you."
"I'm just sorry I put you through so much. I just wanted you to be able to get on with your life. Todd tried to tell me that I should wait and talk to you about it in a few months, but I decided that it was best to sever the ties immediately. I didn't have the right to make that decision for you." He kissed her forehead.
The next few weeks were busy for Tony and Michelle. They flew to Chicago and spent several days with Tony's parents. While they were there, they got a marriage license and were remarried by a Justice of the Peace. Toward the end of the trip, Tony got a call from an official at the federal prison system regarding the job that Warden Holmes had mentioned. After an hour phone interview, they asked Tony to come to Virginia to interview in person. Tony and Michelle rearranged their travel plans and flew to Virginia for the interview, spent a couple of days in the area and then flew back to LA.
They had only been home two days when the prison official called Tony back to offer him the job. They quickly negotiated salary and start date and Tony accepted the position. He and Michelle were excited about the chance to move to Virginia just as they had planned 18 months ago. They were happy to have the chance to start over and started talking again about their hopes for the future and starting a family. Michelle was able to secure a transfer to a Virginia field office that was only about 15 miles from where Tony would be working. All in all, everything was working out perfectly.
It was Friday morning and Michelle got up and dressed for her last day of work in the LA field office. She was so excited that she wondered how she would concentrate on work for the next eight hours. She and Tony were going out with Kim and Chase for dinner that night and her parents were having a going away party for them on Saturday. Monday morning the movers were coming to pack them up and start the cross country trip. She and Tony would fly to Virginia on Tuesday.
She kissed Tony goodbye and told him she would be home by 6 o'clock. Tony laughed. The FBI was a demanding agency to work for and Michelle was rarely home on time.
Michelle made a face at him when he laughed. "I will be home on time. I promise," she told. "It's my last day, I refuse to work late."
"I'll believe it when I see it," Tony informed her as he returned her kiss.
Tony stayed busy packing most of the day. It was around 3:30 when he decided to call Michelle and remind her to be home on time.
"Hey," he said. "How's it going there? Are you still planning on leaving at 5:30?"
Michelle sighed. "Do you remember the case I've been working on?"
"You mean the serial rapist that is luring young girls through the internet?"
"Yeah, that's the one. We got a great tip this morning. I've spent the whole day working it up. If this pans out, we may be able to make an arrest. So I'm probably going to be stuck in the office for a while getting enough evidence for an arrest warrant. This is all circumstantial evidence so the judge is going to want as much evidence we can possibly come up with."
"So in other words, I should call Kim and Chase and cancel."
"Maybe you should. I hate to do that, but I can't imagine that I can leave here on time."
"For chrissake, Michelle! This is your last day. Let someone else finish it up."
"Tony, I've been working on this case for six months. Nine girls have been raped and three have ended up dead. This guy actually takes the time to use a condom so he doesn't even leave us any DNA. I can't walk away, not now, not after all this time. There's too much as stake."
Tony was angry but knew that she was right. "Okay, just keep in touch so I know when to expect you to come home." He would be surprised if she walked in the door before midnight.
Tony went back to packing and thinking about how much he was looking forward to his new job and their new life on the east coast. He started imagining them with children and a little house in the suburbs and found himself smiling.
The phone rang around 7:20 and he knew from the caller ID that it was Michelle.
"Hi," he said. "Are you coming home soon?"
"Probably not," she told him. "We're close to making an arrest, though."
"Good, at least when you leave you'll know the case is closed."
"Yeah, right," she said without enthusiasm.
"What's wrong?" Tony asked her. "You sound like there's a problem."
"Not really a problem. It's just that we're spread really thin here tonight. We have every available field agent out and we need a couple more to complete the operation."
"Michelle, you are not a field agent," he said sensing that she was about to tell him that she was going into the field. "Tell me you're not going out in the field." She could hear the anxiety rising in his voice.
"I'm rated as excellent on the firing range, Tony. I can take care of myself."
"When is the last time you were in the field?"
Michelle was silent.
"When was the last time, Michelle?" The anger was clear in Tony's voice.
"When I was at the Chandler Plaza Hotel," she answered calmly.
"You almost died there. Do you remember that?"
"Of course I remember that. I also remember that is was the virus that nearly killed me, not a bullet."
"But then you were kidnapped! Michelle, this is nuts. There have to be other agents there that can go out in the field. Please don't do this, Michelle. I almost lost you once, I can't bear to go through that again."
"Tony, I can do this. I'll be careful. I'll just be there for back up. You don't need to worry," she told him. "I love you. I'll call you as soon as I can."